Tuesday, September 25, 2012

The Civil War (website) - Tuesday's Tip

The Civil War (at sonofthesouth.net) is a website packed with resources about the Civil War. You would think, with a url like "son of the south," that most of the content would cover the Confederate South but, surprisingly, there is information on both the Union and the Confederate war efforts.

The Civil War website says of itself, "the WEB's most extensive source of original Civil
War resources. This site has over 7,000 pages of original Civil War
content, and is full of incredible photographs, original illustrations,
and eye-witness accounts of the defining moments of this Historic
Struggle." If you have ancestors who served in the war, this may be a helpful site for you to learn more about their experiences. You won't find genealogical information but you may be able to find meat to put on the bare bones of dates and places.

In an earlier post I introduced you to the Civil War issues of Harper's Weekly at The Civil War. Now, let's look beyond the magazines to see what else is available. Go to the site and look at the left sidebar. Ignore the ads at the top and look below where you'll see a list of links to topics: Civil War, Civil War Overview, Civil War Battles, Confederate Generals, Union Generals, Confederate History, Robert E. Lee, Civil War Medicine, Lincoln Assassination, Slavery, etc. (There are also individual links to each year of the Civil War which
will take you to issues of Harper's Weekly for that year)

If you click on Civil War Battles you'll be taken to a page that looks like the one to the right. Click on one of the battle images and you'll go to a page which gives details of the battle, the movements of the troops, and the actions of the soldiers and generals, along with images in photos and/or drawings. There are multiple links on each page.

Click on Confederate Generals or Union Generals and you'll be taken to a page with photos of generals. Click on one of them and you'll see photographs and be able to read a biography.

The links in the sidebar may change depending on the subject of the page. For instance, when you click on Slavery you'll see another dozen options including Slavery History, Slave Photographs, Slave Pictures, Slave Maps, etc. At each of the links you'll learn more about the topic.

I was particularly interested in Civil War Medicine because of my great-grandfather's Civil War Pension File. It gives a good overview of the conditions of patients, a link to the report of the sanitary commission, and information about amputation, including a photograph of an original amputation kit.

At the main page, scroll down a little lower on the left sidebar and you'll see links to other wars and to Civil War artists Winslow Homer and Thomas Nast, and photographer Mathew Brady. Read their biographies and see some of their art.

This website is very large with many individual pages. I think it's a good site for both general and specific Civil War information. (But don't be put off by the ads. Without the ads I suspect we'd have to pay to use the site.) Explore and see if you find helpful information..

Thank you Nancy! What an amazing website on the Civil War. I have many ancestors from Georgia who served including my Great Grandfather who's service history has been well documented by family and service records. I know I will read and read at this website. Thanks,SueCollectInTexas Gal

Nancy, I found your blog via Shelley at A Sense of Family. Thanks for the Civil War site. Such an awesome resource! I have Holmes ancestors from Tuscarawas County. Rebecca Holmes Williams, her father William Holmes, his father Obadiah Holmes and so on. Rebecca is my g-g-grandmother. They came to Allen County, Oh in the mid 1860s from Tuscarawas County. Any chance our families cross branches? Cindy Freed genealogycircle.com

Hi, Cindy. You're welcome. I hope you enjoy the Civil War website. With all the links it seems like an almost endless resource.

Our Holmes families probably cross somewhere but I'm not sure where. My g-g-g-grandmother was Susan/Susanna Holmes (who married William Bickerstaff in 1830 in Tuscarawas Co.). Susan's g-grandfather was Obadiah Holmes but I think that's further back than your Rebecca, William, and Obadiah Holmes. I think I have to come forward and laterally to find your Holmes family. I've gathered some of the family myself but a distant cousin sent 50 pages of descendants of Robert Hulme Holmes (b. 1553!). I haven't adopted these ancestors as mine yet until I do some more research. In the kinship list I see Rebecca, William, and Obadiah Holmes but I'm not sure they're the same individuals who are your ancestors. It seems likely the lines cross somewhere based on family names and location.

Get Translation Help Here:

About Me

Sometimes I want to jump back in time, into the lives of my ancestors. Not to stay, of course -- too many modern conveniences I'd rather not do without -- but to meet them and watch their interactions with each other. Since I can't do that, I spend time learning about them and the times in which they lived. I look forward to meeting them. I've been seriously searching for my ancestors for nearly 8 years. I plan to continue indefinitely.
If you think we might have ancestors in common or you'd like to contact me for any other reason, please email me at myancestorsandme @ gmail.com.